Foday Dumbuya is the creative force behind LABRUM London, the British African brand that’s breaking new ground in a football-fashion space crying out for invention.

Blending British tailoring with West African touchpoints, LABRUM’s pieces are a window into the migrant experience and the beauty of cultural diversity. They bring the experience of African diaspora to life like no one else, which made them the perfect candidates to design Arsenal’s away kit for the 24/25 season.

As a lifelong Gunner, Foday jumped at the chance to partner with adidas and his childhood club to create a jersey that was a tribute to Arsenal’s global African fanbase. It was a remarkable moment for a brand that founded only 10 years ago, but this story is only just beginning.

Last month, LABRUM’s London Fashion Week show came live from Emirates Stadium, turning a Premier League ground into a catwalk for the first time ever. Declan Rice modelled while the likes of Alex Scott, Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly sat front row. This was fashion infiltrating and influencing football like never before.

Foday Dumbuya is the living embodiment of VERSUS 50 – a new list with Chivas Regal that celebrates the individuals rising up to shape new football culture. We spoke to Foday about his journey, his relationship with football, and how the spirit of Chivas Regal's "I Rise, We Rise" mantra underpins his work.

What is the one thing you still want to achieve?

I’m obsessed with knowledge. Children in Sierra Leone – in West Africa – think differently to young people here. I would love to create some sort of permanent, open dialogue between children here and children in West Africa – a way to travel between places, to swap stories, to share skills. I believe if we can share knowledge and build greater empathy between communities, we’ll be able to live in harmony.

How do you hope to inspire others?

I just want to be myself and hope I continue to work on projects that make people feel something deeper. I want to build a platform for people to find knowledge and peace. In 50 years or so, I want LABRUM to still exist and for it to be even more deeply rooted in the experiences and culture of all people.

How do you see football’s role in wider culture?

Everybody has a connection to football and that means it can set a real standard for young people. When you look at the likes of Bukayo Saka, he’s become a role model for kids to look up to. That’s an extreme example because even at lower levels of the game, it takes an incredible level of drive and discipline to succeed as a professional athlete – those are values young people can take with them into all areas of life.

LABRUM has become more and more visible within football. How did that happen?

Our first work in football was creating the Sierra Leone kit for the Tokyo Olympics – it was huge because people realised we weren’t just doing high fashion, we could tell visual stories through sportswear too. It was celebrating the 16 tribes of Sierra Leone but did it through an accessible, high-impact moment.

After that, we got commissioned to do the Hackney Wick FC ‘Top Boy’ kit with Bobby Kasanga and Netflix. Again, it pushed us to another level of creativity. We went back to West African art of the 1920s and put that side-by-side with the visual language of Hackney.

That paved the way for our work this summer with Arsenal. It’s my football club! I’ve been supporting them since I was 12-years-old – and when you get the opportunity to design the away kit for Arsenal, it’s elite. The club wanted to celebrate their African fanbase and they thought the only person who could tell that story authentically was me.

What piece of advice would you give to someone to score big in life?

If you want success, you need to be consistent. I had an idea and I stayed with it for a long time. I block out all the noise – we live in a world where online discourse can get corroded – and focus on myself. I’m also always humble and aim to bring my community with me in everything I do.

What is the biggest change we need to see in football?

Football should be more diverse, not just from a playing perspective but also within the people who actually run the club. I also think players need more post-career support. Once they stop playing, whether it’s as a young person who exits an academy or a veteran who retires, there should be more help for them to find another career.

Foday Dumbaya features in the first-ever VERSUS 50 with Chivas Regal. Find the full list here.

VERSUS: Who are you and what do you do?

Foday Dumbuya: My name is Foday Dumbuya, I’m the founder and creative director of LABRUM London. I founded the brand 10 years ago and I wanted us to tell untold stories about London, about West Africa and about Sierra Leone specifically. I grew up in London and I wanted to bring my own intersectionality to the forefront, because I always felt African culture wasn’t portrayed in the right way. I had to work out how I wanted to bring this message to life and fashion was my first choice. I want our product to represent the joyful stories of London that I grew up with, but mix it with West African culture, music and food.

Can you speak about how football has influenced LABRUM?

I used to play football as a kid and I still do now when I have time! Football is life to so many people in London and West Africa. Everything we talk about at LABRUM is about people, migration and individuals moving from place to place – and when you look at English football, so many players from West Africa have made a journey to come here. They bring their culture with them and embed it within British culture via how they play football, and that’s similar to what I’ve done – I’ve come from Sierra Leone and placed my experiences within British culture via self-expression. There’s huge synergies between LABRUM’s story and that of migration to the Premier League.

What have your biggest challenges been and how did you overcome them?

There’s been a lot! When you start something that’s never been done before, the challenge is always helping other people understand where you’re coming from. I have a strong belief that no matter how well you explain something verbally, if you can’t do it visually, something isn’t right. I was trying to sell an idea of mixing West African style with British tailoring, so I started creating a lot of images and videos that brought this early vision to life. That made it a lot easier for people to get a grasp of what our aim was, and it’s helped our growth up until today.

Where do you find your motivation?

I love people. I always look at what people are doing and what people are wearing. If you grew up in London, it’s one of the most diverse cities on the planet – there’s a uniqueness to everybody you meet. I find inspiration through that.

What’s the one thing you did that changed the game for you?

I’ve always been intentional about our mission from the very start. I’ve been committed to telling the same type of stories via our fashion from day one to now. Once people understood I wasn’t chasing hype and I was motivated by a deep cultural purpose, it helped people become friends of the brand and learn to love what we do. I’ve been very deliberate about our vision and haven’t compromised on that.